A comic book, but a librarian

Yoichi Ono smiled bitterly and touched his neck. He still felt a little pain in his neck, and then his face straightened.

"But just like what the teacher said, I don't know the cause and effect of this story, nor do I know what he wants to express. If I look at it based on the current level of completion, not to mention the picky editors, even the non-picky readers will not accept it."

"Narrative... Narrative, I know it!! I finally know it!"

Uesugi Cheng suddenly couldn't help laughing, and his laughter became louder and louder, making the master and disciple pair sitting opposite him feel that something was not right.

"I didn't say anything wrong, did I? That boy is a real genius..."

Jiro Sugino signaled his apprentice with his eyes, but he didn't expect Ono Yoichi to respond by just shaking his head.

"How should I know? You see, I know little more about him than you do. I know nothing more than that he is a genius."

"Yes, if I want to draw that feeling...if I want to put emotion into it, if I want others to understand what I want to draw at a glance, then that's it!! Thank you very much!!"

Uesugi Sumire suddenly stood up and bowed to Sugino Jiro, which scared the old man, but before he could speak, Uesugi Sumire spoke first.

"Teacher Sugino, I want to invite you and Teacher Ono. I hope you two can come and witness... what the painting in my mind should look like. I want to make this inspiration and desire that has been lingering in my heart for so long... draw it completely without any regrets."

"what……?"

It took Ono Hiro a while to react and he let out a sigh, but Uesugi Sumika obviously had no intention of waiting for their response. He simply left an address and ran out with his bag, not even caring about the painting and his drafts. It seemed that he couldn't wait to go back to his home.

“What to do with that painting?”

Yoichi Ono pointed at the beautiful painting that he dared not look at for too long. He was afraid that he would develop an inappropriate greed because of the painting. At the same time, he sighed in his heart, wondering how lucky or unlucky he was to meet such a student.

"You still want to deal with it? Just help him pack it up honestly, and then let him take the painting back! And let me ask you, what does he mean by the painting he wants to draw the most?"

To this, Yoichi Ono could only respond with an awkward laugh, and then was scolded again by his teacher.

"Okay, I'll go talk to your principal. If you have classes, go and don't delay the students' studies."

Then Sugino Jiro saw Ono Yoichi, who had a surprised look on his face, and suddenly laughed happily.

"Do you think I don't know the principal here? Don't you know that guy was once..."

"You're the one too. How did you get here? I didn't quite believe what the security guard said."

Yoichi Ono didn't want to join the two old men's reminiscing, so he simply started to clean up the classroom himself. Although he didn't need to attend class today, he didn't know why he didn't want to leave the classroom.

"I should try harder..."

For no reason, he uttered such a sigh.

-

"Hey, bro! Do me a favor, yes! Just help me get that board there, I need it tomorrow!!"

Uesugi Sumiko began to coordinate his own help. The entire painting process was completed by him alone, but he planned to use all the help he could for the early preparations.

After making all the invitations and calls for help, Uesugi Cheng touched the old copy of "Hell Transformation" in his hand.

"Akutagawa Ryunosuke, I finally found a way to get your book out of my mind, how great."

He smiled and put the book down.

204

Chapter 204 is about re-mixing pigments before painting.

Uesugi Cheng was lying on his bed. Although he was extremely excited in the afternoon, he had calmed down now. All his soul had gradually entered a dormant state, preparing for tomorrow's work.

"Ring ring ring ring..."

The cell phone rang. Uesugi Cheng raised his head, opened his eyes and picked up the phone. He hadn't paid attention to the incoming calls on his phone for a long time, but someone actually called him at this time today?

Uesugi Cheng thought about it and squinted his eyes before answering the phone. Then he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Uesugi-sama, good evening..."

He was very familiar with it. The voice of the ghost-catching girl Bao Yue Ye Xiao sounded on the other end of the phone. He thought for a few seconds and finally asked.

"Good evening, what can I do for you?"

"Ah, that's right. Do you have time this weekend to explore the supernatural area? It seems that Hotaru is having a holiday and doesn't have to take care of students, so I came to ask."

Baoyue Yexiao went straight to the point. She had been thinking for a long time in her home but couldn't figure out whether Uesugi Cheng was a human or an evil spirit. But no matter what, it was enough to understand that the other party was standing with her now, and she could think about the rest later.

"I remember you said it was an ancient war site, right?"

Uesugi Cheng rubbed his eyes. No matter how powerful his soul was, his body would still react as it should.

"Yes, I hope that you can go with us, Brother Uesugi, and protect the safety of Hotaru, who only has the ability of psychic vision."

Uesugi Cheng thought of the man with gloves. He didn't think that the college student named Hotaru only had the ability of clairvoyance. Logically speaking, his inspiration was so strong that his spiritual power should only be stronger, just like Yotsuya Miko. Under his teaching, he could suppress most of the weaker evil spirits.

"Is that so? Ha... I see. It should be fine if it's the weekend. By the way, do you want to come and see me tomorrow?"

"What are you looking at?"

Baoyue Yexiao was a little curious. After all, there was no need to say much about how powerful Uesugi Cheng was, and the things he mentioned would probably not be bad.

"Oh, nothing. I'm planning to paint a picture. I think it's a picture that I'm going to paint with my soul..."

"Then I'd better come over."

Baoyue Yexiao said without hesitation that it was not that she liked art, but if what Uesugi Cheng said about risking one's soul was literal, she felt that the painting might not be that simple. If it was not handled properly, she was afraid that some messy things would be housed in the painting.

Of course, she thought those were trivial matters. It would be very interesting if she could draw a painting with soul, so she had no intention of missing this opportunity.

So Uesugi Cheng told her the address and time, hung up the phone decisively, set an automatic reply, turned the phone to silent mode, lay on the bed again, and fell into a complete sleep.

Himegami Sakura silently moved the materials piled in the corner. Those were the raw materials for tomorrow's paint. Although their colors were eye-catching enough, if he wanted to achieve the effect that Uesugi Cheng wanted, he would have to adjust the colors again. This was also the most important reason why he had to go to bed so early. He had to get up early and go to the scene to mix the paint.

The next morning, Uesugi Cheng shook his head helplessly as he looked at the box of bottles, jars and stones. Although Himegami Sakura could help him count and organize the materials, he still had to do the moving himself in the end.

Uesugi Cheng brought his eating utensils, which were large and small tools and a box of materials, to the venue. It was a studio that Uesugi Shin had "coordinated" for him. The studio was spacious enough and quiet enough. The most important thing was that the window would not affect Uesugi Cheng's sight.

"First, the color of the flame... Forge, I have seen real flames before. Please let me... just once, please let me depict that flame again."

Uesugi Cheng opened the bottle of the scarlet essence, and [Sight and Perception] was activated at this moment. The scarlet essence that fell into the palette did not have the violent look when it was burning. It was as docile as a toy that could be manipulated, and its brightness and purity slowly changed in Uesugi Cheng's hands.

When Hikigaya Hachiman walked into the empty studio and wondered why he had arrived so early, he saw an unimaginable scene: Uesugi Sumire was busy standing beside the workbench where the paints were placed. He looked completely different from his usual lazy appearance. At this moment, Uesugi Sumire was so serious that he didn't even dare to approach him.

"So early? Why don't you go get some breakfast first and then catch up on some sleep?"

Uesugi Cheng looked up. He just noticed that someone had come.

"If we don't get up earlier, I'm afraid something might happen. You haven't looked very well these past few days... Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not afraid that something might happen to you. I'm afraid something might happen to this place. I've already had breakfast and everything."

Hikigaya Hachiman yawned.

"It's okay, it's okay if you eat it. Go bring me some breakfast and continue. I forgot to buy breakfast on the way."

Uesugi Sumire responded with a look, Hikigaya Hachiman was stunned for a moment, then caught the denomination of the bill that floated over.

"Whatever you want to eat, I'll buy it now! I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

His attitude changed 180 degrees, because according to Uesugi Cheng's usual practice, the remaining money was the money he could put into his own pocket.

"Just take anything. Something with soup is best."

Uesugi Cheng said casually that he himself didn't really want to eat, but his body really needed it. He was too lazy to find a ham or a dried fish in the Silent Bookstore to fill his stomach, so he just asked Hikigaya Hachiman to bring him breakfast.

"The next step is mineral pigments..."

Compared to the re-mixing of liquid pigments, especially flammable and explosive materials such as red essence, special care must be taken when mixing them, otherwise the firefighters may come faster than the customers. The remaining mineral pigments are actually a little simpler. Uesugi Cheng only needs to grind them up a little bit and then let them melt in the solvent.

"Come to think of it, I actually found something as good as this... Now I can mix the pink color as I want."

Uesugi Cheng shook the small bottle in his hand. It was a decoration he found in the room where food and tea were stored. He didn't know why someone threw the decoration into that room.

[Rose Pearl]: In a folk tale, the witch predicted to the witch that the sea would drink her blood; the witch predicted to the witch that the sea would never hurt her. When they landed in Brancog, she gave her a shell to collect rainwater, and the sharp edge spilled her blood on the white sand. We call that blood Rose Pearl. (1 heart)

205

Chapter 205 Re-drawing - "Hell Transformation" (Part 1)

Uesugi Cheng touched the pink, round and plump pearl and slowly crushed it into powder. Combining it with a solvent, the skin color and various pink bases were obtained. Then he took out the bitter black salt and Yao Su and began to make them into pigments. Of course, this process was not as long as he had imagined. It was rather because there was no one else around, he could use the soul essence unscrupulously to carry out the division of labor for basic work, so the progress seemed particularly fast.

Of course, when Hikigaya Hachiman went to buy breakfast, the second customer had already arrived. Yotsuya Miko looked at the dazzling array of paints curiously, and seemed to be using her limited knowledge of art to think about what effect these things would have when applied on the drawing paper.

"Acheng-san, are you going to prepare for painting now?"

Yotsuya Miko asked the question even though she knew the answer, but she really couldn't think of a better question to start the conversation. After all, she didn't understand art.

"Yeah, I'm mixing the paint. If anything goes wrong while painting today, I'll need your help and that Hikigaya guy."

Uesugi Sumiko's casual remark overloaded Yotsuya Miko's brain to the point of freezing. She really couldn't imagine why Uesugi Sumiko had to use such a serious tone to describe a painting.

"Eh? Me? But...how can I help?"

Yotsuya Miko finally asked in a low voice, but when she looked up, she found that Uesugi Sumire was once again immersed in the mixing of paints, so she had to give up. Since she arrived a little early, she could only find a place to sit down.

"Hey, I bought breakfast."

Hikigaya Hachiman handed the breakfast to Uesugi Sumire, and took a look at the paints around him. In an instant, he felt cold sweat breaking out. Although he did not recognize the raw materials of most of the paints, he clearly felt that if he lit a fire, it might cause a fire that the Tokyo fire department would be unable to put out even if they died of exhaustion.

"Oh, leave it there. I'll start working after I finish eating."

Uesugi Cheng looked at the paint that was almost ready and was faced with a dilemma. Where should he start this painting? From the flame? But if he started from the flame, the focus of the whole painting would be shifted.

Uesugi Cheng was stuffing his breakfast into his mouth while thinking. Although he had already decided on the theme of the painting long ago, when it came time to start painting, how to draw the first stroke became his biggest problem.

While he was still thinking, he saw the book "Hell Transformation" again. It was sitting there neatly under a pile of paint as a cushion. How did Ryūnosuke Akutagawa start the first stroke of his last painting? How did the inspiration that emerged from the death of his beloved daughter drive him to paint the first stroke?

-

"Are we late?"

Jiro Sugino looked at Uesugi Sumire who had already started to get busy, and asked Ono Yoichi beside him. In fact, he was also very curious why Uesugi Sumire was so confident that he invited others to watch his painting process. In the history of art, there were almost no painters who would make such an arrogant invitation.

"I think should not be……"

Yoichi Ono was also very puzzled. He didn't understand why Uesugi Sumika would do such a thing. However, considering that the talent of this genius was too outrageous, he didn't say anything. He glanced at Yotsuya Miko and Hikigaya Hachiman who were already immersed in the painting process of Uesugi Sumika, took a deep breath, and walked into the spacious studio with his mentor.

Uesugi Cheng stood in front of a wall. The entire wall was covered with enough drawing paper for Uesugi Cheng to express himself, but at this moment he stood in the center and was drawing the first character.

"Who is that?"

Sugino Jiro and Ono Hiroshi couldn't help but have this question when they saw the man in the painting. The man in the painting was so real that he seemed as if he would move in the next second. Of course, this was not the point. They had all witnessed with their own eyes the superb use of colors by Uesugi Sumiya, so it was not difficult to achieve this level.

But what they didn't understand was why fanaticism, sadness, despair, anger, joy and satisfaction could appear on one person's face at the same time. These emotions were even expressed perfectly, making the protagonist of the painting look like a complete lunatic. He was staring at another part of the painting and looked like he was doing something.

But before they could think, they found a paintbrush appeared in the hand of the person in the painting, followed by the canvas, and even on the canvas in the painting, a blazing fire was delicately painted...

Yes, flames, such beautiful flames...

Sugino Jiro sighed, he never thought that he would use the word beauty to describe fire, the blazing flames did not give people a sense of danger, it even had a wild beauty, he even felt like he was in the fire, dancing with these things that could devour him at any time.

He was truly astonished by Uesugi Cheng's control over colors and perception. The dangerous flames in the painting were like docile pets in his hands, faithfully carrying out his orders.

It was at this time that Sugino Jiro realized the true identity of the man in the painting: an arrogant, disgusting but talented Ukiyo-e artist, a pitiful man who smiled even as he watched his daughter being burned to death in a carriage, a guy called Yoshihide.

It was at this moment that he suddenly felt that Uesugi Sumiko standing in front of the drawing paper was like a monster. He no longer looked like a painter or an artist, but like a real "Ryohide", who poured all of himself into the painting.

"Make a phone call...go make a phone call, call those old guys."

Sugino Jiro's lips curled up into a smile, and he instructed his disciple, who had been distracted, to come back to his senses.

"Eh? Who are you calling...Teacher, are you serious?"

"Nonsense, just hit me if I tell you to. You can't be the only one seeing this. Let them see what a true genius looks like."

Sugino Jiro stopped talking after saying this, because he realized that the white-haired old man with messy eyebrows, holding a paintbrush and a crazy look in his eyes was standing in front of him at some point.

"Can you draw? What hell looks like."

The devil-like Ukiyo-e painter was smiling, tears of blood flowing from the corners of his eyes, and his paintbrush was burning with flames. The lifelike flames seemed to be alive and began to spread towards Sugino Jiro.

206

Chapter 206 Re-drawing - "Hell Transformation" (Part 2)

Jiro Sugino didn't know how to face this Ukiyo-e painter who didn't exist at all. His life was fictional, his talent and works were also fictional. But at this moment, the pain of that guy named Yoshihide was so real, as if he had really existed in this world.

"I will draw it! I will definitely draw it! Even if it means risking her life! I will definitely finish this painting!"

Sugino Jiro widened his eyes, this was not what was in the original book. The old man named Yoshihide chose to commit suicide after completing the painting in despair, leaving behind the "Hell Transformation" that showed people what hell was like. But no one would ever say that Yoshihide strengthened his determination at this time to complete the painting, even if it was for his dead daughter.

In Ryunosuke Akutagawa's original work, Yoshihide was a complete jerk who was arrogant because of his talent, instead of the man with a determination to die and a heart as strong as steel that he is now.